This article reviews the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndromes in the intensive care unit as well as the literature on the optimal pharmacologic strategies for treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndromes in the critically ill. Treatment of alcohol withdrawal in the intensive care unit mirrors that of the general acute care wards and detoxification centers. In a...

Binocular depth inversion represents an illusion of visual perception, serving to invert the perception of implausible hollow objects, e.g. a hollow face into a normal face. Such inversion occurs frequently, especially when objects with a higher degree of familiarity (e.g. photographs of faces) are displayed. Cognitive factors are assumed to override the binocular disparity cues of stereopsis. ...

One diagnostic criterion of alcohol dependence is the appearance of a withdrawal syndrome when alcohol consumption ceases. Researchers have used various animal models, including isolated brain cells, slices of brain tissue, and intact animals, to study the mechanisms and manifestations of withdrawal. Results from these experimental studies have demonstrated that many consequences of withdrawal ...

Alcohol abuse produces a considerable burden of illness in the Canadian population. The diagnosis of alcohol dependence and withdrawal can be difficult, particularly in the setting of covert intake or comorbidity. Two validated scales, the CAGE questionnaire to screen for alcohol abuse and dependence and the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar) scale to assess the seve...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of acute postoperative alcohol withdrawal on survival of vascularized fibular grafts for mandibular reconstruction. DESIGN Retrospective case series of 17 consecutive patients. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE Relation between flap survival and alcohol withdrawal. RESULTS Flap survival rate was 25% for patients who experienced delirium tremens and 85% in the other pa...

BACKGROUND Several lines of evidence in both human and animal studies suggest that variation in neuropeptide Y (NPY) or its receptor genes (NPY1R, NPY2R and NPY5R) is associated with alcohol dependence as well as alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Additional studies suggest that cocaine may affect NPY expression. METHODS A total of 39 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped across NPY...

Understanding the effects of tobacco smoking on neuroadaptations in GABAA receptor levels over alcohol withdrawal will provide critical insights for the treatment of comorbid alcohol and nicotine dependence. We conducted parallel studies in human subjects and nonhuman primates to investigate the differential effects of tobacco smoking and nicotine on changes in GABAA receptor availability durin...

Alcohol dependence is an increasing and pervasive problem. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are a part of alcohol dependence syndrome and are commonly encountered in general hospital settings, in most of the departments. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome ranges from mild to severe. The severe complicated alcohol withdrawal may present with hallucinations, seizures or delirium tremens. Benzodiazepines have...

AIMS To investigate glutamate receptor subtypes during alcohol withdrawal. METHODS Rats were exposed to severe alcohol intoxication for 84 h and then decapitated at 0, 12 and 36 h after the last alcohol dose (n = 7 per group). Alcohol was administered five times a day by intragastric intubation. The densities of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and 2-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic a...